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Chak De! India
Overview "Chak De India" (Hindi: चक दे इंडिया, Urdu: چک دے انڈیا, translation: "Bottoms Up India" or "Come On India") is a Hindi film, directed by Shimit Amin starring Shahrukh Khan and Vidya Malvade in lead roles. The film is Amin's second directorial venture after Ab Tak Chhappan which was produced by Ram Gopal Varma. On 30 August 2007 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences requested a copy of the "Chak De India" script for a place in the Margaret Herrick library. This movie is inspired from a win of women's Indian Hockey team in the 2002 Commonwealth Games held in Manchester. The film opened with an average of 22 Crores which increased in the 2nd week to 65.5 Crs according to Mouthshut.com. Plot The movie begins with Kabir Khan (Shahrukh Khan) playing Hockey at the World Cup finals as the Indian team captain against Pakistan. The Indian team was lagging behind Pakistan and gets one penalty opportunity, which Kabir fails to score which leads to them losing the match. Not only that, Kabir is labeled as a traitor of the country who has been involved in match fixing. He leaves his hometown along with his mother and goes into exile, no one knows where he disappears off. Seven years later, Kabir returns with hopes to become the coach for the National Women’s Hockey team of India. He easily gets the position, as no one in the management even cared about their team anymore, as cricket was the only "true sport" of the country. Sixteen state champions come together to form a national team, but none of them had enough practice or zeal to win the tournament. They had been used to losing. A few disputes occur between the girls from different regions and languages until finally team spirit is ignited within them by Mr. Kabir Khan. They even have a boys vs. girls hockey match where girls nearly beat the boys, but acquire a greater reward, the "green light" to go onto the World Cup tournament. On the first match in World Cup Tournament, Australia beats India 7-0. But again it’s the coach who comes to rescue girls' team with inspiring words about team spirit. The following matches with England, Spain, New Zealand, and South Africa, India is victorious. Then came tougher matches against Argentina, who plays rougher than what the Indian team is used to. South Korea is their next opponent which they use the strategy of Bindia Naik, the teams rebel. Their victory against South Korea takes them to the finals, where they once again face off against Australia. During the finals two of the players rival to get highest score, but Kabir once again preaches team spirit, and how they should play on the field. On the final match the team plays as suggested by the coach leading to a tie with Australia. With the shootout, India misses the first two shots, while Australia scores both. Tension rises. India’s keeper manages to save all of the following Australian shots leading to India's victory. Comments GROUP 1 -This movie is excellent for showing how to get out of very difficult situations. -Every individual likes to express his individuality. It is a gift we are endowed with. -It expresses positively and negatively in man. Negatively it expresses in his lower consciousness as ego. -Ego is caused by the vital being pulling towards its own interests at the expense of others, or of the world. -This is a story of moving out of ego. -I.e. moving out of the ego of identifying with my interests over yours, my state over yours, etc. -Man can move out of ego when he discovers his true nature; his true self. -Here the girls are afforded an opportunity to shed their ego by connecting to a group consciousness. -By joining with the spirit of the team, or the Indian team, we transcend our separative mental and vital nature. -At each point they do, the team succeeds. -The coach guides them through this process. -He does so through highly inventive methods and strategies. -He motivates them to find this Group Spirit. -That group spirit is the source of vast energy. -He releases that energy in them. -That energy cannot but succeed, attracting success. -It is similar to the release of energy in the Indian film Lagaan that similarly brings about great success against all odds in a sports match. -The coach is highly motivated to undertake this project. -As he says, he spent 7 years (in exile) preparing for that moment (of guiding the team). -His past failure has motivated him to work for the team spirit, which he feels he somehow betrayed as player. He felt he betrayed his country. He works to bring the team spirit of working collectively for the sake of the country. Beyond the country is the sake of others; i.e. other teammates. -In some cases the strategy was to overcome the ego movement between two individuals. -Even there it is for the sake of the team. -When that occurs life responds in the positive direction with sudden good fortune. -It is interesting that they lose convincingly in the opening round. From the greatest darkness they gather the greatest strength that enables them to prevail. They even prevail over the team that humiliated them (Australia). It even occurs in the home territory of that team where the tournament is held! -It is also a movie of women’s freedom and liberation. -It is a story of dignity and acceptance of others as a woman in a normally man’s world of sports. -It is the male coming out of ego and embracing the female. -It is a decidedly Indian tale, where the philosophy of coming out of ego is portrayed; so central to that nation's spiritual philosophy. -It is not only moving out of ego, but acting in harmony with others that can only occur through the discovery of the True Self, the true individuality and dignity of Self. That too is decidedly Indian, echoing the Gita, Upanishads, and other great spiritual wisdom of the culture. -All the principals of leadership can be found here, as well as accomplishment. -Perhaps even greater than the group spirit worked for, is working for the sake of other teammates. It is the movement towards selfless and self-giving behavior -- a spiritual attitude and value in life. -The coach is brilliant in that he uses the negative qualities of those players who are incorrigible to the team’s advantage. He sees negatives as positive in disguise. -He waits for the right time to apply this negative to positive strategy in each situation. -He is tough to the point of nearly being overbearing. -Other times he remains detached and watchful -- i.e. holding himself back -- only imposing himself at the right moment. -The girls do not leave him in the first half despite his near-bullying ways, because they each see that he has guided them in situations where they have overcome a limitation in their own nature. They each know they have been helped in their own way. Thus, they don’t abandon him. This is a key! -In fact, they turn this subconscious recognition that he has earlier helped them individually overcome an ego movement or other limitation by later, when they later come together and fight, defend themselves against the boys rude behavior at the restaurant. -It brings to the surface the group consciousness from the subconscious. -His strategies are consistently brilliant, even as they are on the verge of failing. -He is fearless because he has nothing to lose. He has been at the bottom psychologically, and has nowhere to go but up. As a result, he, along with the girls as their country's representative, go to the very top. GROUP 2: The coach was ostracized seven years earlier when he missed the goal in the championships, accused of being a traitor. The story does not make it clear at that point, but we could surmise from subsequent events that it was his egoism of deciding to take the shot himself that was the cause of the failure and the accusations. It was a lesson he had to learn and overcome so he meets it in strong measure with the women’s team. At the end of the story, there is no scene in which the women thank the coach or celebrate his accomplishment. That both reflects his willingness to withdraw the ego and let them take credit. It also shows natural ingratitude – in our moment of triumph we forget those who made it possible. Preeti’s success comes because she rejects her fiancé in favor of proving her own worth Bindia offers herself to the coach. Her opposition to him is subconscious attraction. When the opposition fails, she offers herself openly. He conquers her by not responding and then she plays a crucial role. Had he relied on her before her submission and reversal, she would have sabotaged the team. The big Punjabi girl has to learn to control her temper and use her strength appropriately. Komal practices self-giving by passing to Preeti in the final. Preeti responds by offering the final penalty shot opportunity to Komal. The movie is a close parallel to Disney’s Miracle with Kurt Russell as coach about US ice hockey team. I thought much of the story was inspired by it. The Committee’s refusal shows the general social climate and attitude. The coach takes the major gamble of challenging the men’s team and winning their admiration. Most of the players face opposition from their own families because the sport has not yet gains social acceptance for women. Their opposition reflects the social attitude. Back to Films for review Category:Life in Movies